Mike Temporale
02-16-2006, 05:30 PM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.infoworld.com/article/06/02/15/75403_HNmobileosesvie_1.html?source=NLC-TB2006-02-15' target='_blank'>http://www.infoworld.com/article/06/02/15/75403_HNmobileosesvie_1.html?source=NLC-TB2006-02-15</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Operators and handset makers are moving toward standardizing on just a few mobile phone operating systems. They're likely to choose relatively open platforms with large developer groups, according to experts at the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona on Wednesday. ...operators want to try to standardize on just a few phone operating systems which would make it easier to offer consistent services across a wide range of devices. Vodafone (Profile, Products, Articles) Group currently supports handsets based on more than 15 different platforms, said Dirk Wierzbitzki, group director of terminals portfolio and services at Vodafone. Tweaking each application to work on each platform is expensive, and because the operator must work to the lowest common denominator, it's not offering the innovative services that it wants"</i><br /><br />Windows Mobile isn't mentioned as an option in this article, but other than that, I can't say I disagree with it. Operators just can't afford to support numerous different operating systems on their devices. Just like most corporate IT departments standardize on one desktop OS, the carriers are looking to reduce the number to something more reasonable. I think it's safe to say that most carriers would like 2-3 different operating systems, and it would be safe to say that Symbian and Windows Mobile are high on the list. At least, that's my ranking. :)